Department for Transport

Transport Update

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Further to the Written Ministerial Statement made by my Right Honorable Friend, the Secretary of State for Transport (Grant Shapps) on Friday 26 November, which I repeated, I am today making a further Written Ministerial Statement to make a minor correction to the fourth paragraph. This statement has already been amended in the House of Commons:In October 2020, the Prime Minister asked Sir Peter Hendy to undertake a detailed review of how the quality and availability of transport infrastructure across the UK can support economic growth and quality of life.Since then, Sir Peter and his panel have engaged with a multitude of industries, individuals, and institutions across the UK, and have drawn on their evidence, experiences, and views to develop a set of recommendations. Today, the recommendations are being published.The UK Government is extremely grateful to Sir Peter for his leadership of the review and to all the members of his advisory panel for their expert input. It is a thorough analysis of the current state of transport infrastructure in the UK and presents ambitious solutions to improving connectivity. The report published today includes recommendations that the Government should:design and implement a strategic transport network for the whole of the UK, with funding commitments targeted at parts of the network that require it the most;upgrade the West Coast Main Line north of Crewe to improve journey times and capacity and to enable HS2 to better serve connectivity between Scotland and England;seek to work with the Scottish Government to conduct an assessment of the East Coast rail and road corridor to determine appropriate investments for better connectivity between Scotland and England;offer funding to upgrade the key A75 link to improve freight and passenger connectivity between Great Britain and Northern Ireland;seek to work with the Welsh Government to develop improvements to connectivity between North Wales and North West England on the A55, M53 and M56 roads and on the North Wales Coast Main Line, utilising HS2 and electrification to better serve North Wales, and for connectivity with Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland;relieve congestion on the M4 South Wales and England corridor by upgrading and building new rail stations, supporting the Welsh Governments package of public transport improvements and easing capacity restrictions at the junction of the M4/ M5;develop a package of measures to improve rail journey times and capacity between Cardiff and Birmingham and beyond;improve connectivity to and from Northern Ireland through the development of a long term pipeline of infrastructure investment, better rail connections to airports and by supporting the Northern Ireland Executive in their participation in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review;take measures to improve domestic aviation connectivity through revising subsidy rules, reducing tax and by intervening in the assignment of slots at London airports, and;secure better rail connectivity for freight across the UK with ports, and freeports as they are established.Sir Peter was also asked to assess the technical engineering feasibility of constructing a fixed transport link between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The UK Government would like to thank Professor Douglas Oakervee CBE and Professor Gordon Masterton OBE for their leadership of this work. Sir Peter’s work found that a bridge or a tunnel between Northern Ireland and Great Britain is feasible. But with today’s technology and existing infrastructure, Sir Peter has concluded that the benefits would not outweigh the costs. He is therefore recommending that further work on the fixed transport link should not progress beyond this feasibility study. We accept this recommendation - it is a visionary project whose time might come in future decades, but not now.The Government’s levelling up vision can only be achieved if the transport system across the UK on which we all rely supports and drives economic growth, job creation and social cohesion.The UK Government wholly welcomes Sir Peter’s report and invites the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to work closely with us, in a spirit of collaboration and co-operation, to consider the review’s recommendations and to agree how a new strategic transport network for the whole United Kingdom and the vital upgrades highlighted by Sir Peter can be taken forward to strengthen transport connectivity for the benefit of all parts of the UK.As we build back better, the Government is determined to do so in a way that levels up across the UK, bringing communities across the country even closer together. Wherever you live in the UK, a connected local and national transport network will bring you closer to all the social and economic opportunities available.Sir Peter’s review is a landmark study along that path to a better-connected future. The UK Government thanks him, and his team for their excellent work. We will reflect on his conclusions, discuss them with our colleagues across the UK, and aim to publish a full response to the review in early 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care

Covid-19 Update

Lord Kamall: My Right Honourable friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (sajid Javid) has today made the following statement:The UK’s COVID-19 vaccine programme continues to protect the nation against the virus. We continue to make the vaccine accessible to all those eligible and urge everyone to take up the vaccine and booster offer without delay. Over 17 million people have now received their COVID-19 booster vaccine or third dose, ensuring the protection they’ve secured from their first two doses is maintained over the winter months. On 29 November, in response to a request from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care for urgent advice in light of the Omicron variant, the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has published advice on the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Additional data regarding the Omicron variant will take some time to accrue and the JCVI have advised that waiting for such data before acting risks a suboptimal delayed response. Therefore, the JCVI has advised the following:Booster vaccination eligibility should be expanded to include all adults aged 18 years to 39 years.Booster vaccination should now be offered in order of descending age groups, with priority given to the vaccination of older adults and those in a COVID-19 at-risk group. Booster vaccination should not be given within three months of completion of the primary course. This interval replaces the previous advice which was for a six-month interval.Severely immunosuppressed individuals who have completed their primary course (three doses) should be offered a booster dose with a minimum of three months between the third primary and booster dose.All children and young people aged 12 to 15 years should be offered a second dose (30-micrograms) of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) has accepted this advice and all four parts of the UK intend to follow the JCVI’s advice (JCVI advice on the UK vaccine response to the Omicron variant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)). The overall intention of the measures advised is to accelerate the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines to provide additional protection in the event it is needed as we come to better understand the risks posed by the Omicron variant. There are currently no data to indicate that Omicron infection is associated with a change in the pattern of susceptibility to serious COVID-19 (hospitalisation and death). Persons of older age, or who are in COVID-19 at-risk groups are likely to remain at higher risk from serious COVID-19; therefore, vaccination should be prioritised accordingly. The JCVI will continue to review the programme and options for maximising health benefits alongside the rapidly evolving data on the Omicron variant of concern. With deployment of the extended booster vaccination offer and additional doses to children and young people imminent, I am now updating the House on the liabilities HMG has taken on in relation to further vaccine supply via this statement and the Departmental Minute containing a description of the liability undertaken. The agreement to provide indemnity with deployment of further booster doses to the population increases the statutory contingent liability of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Given the urgency with which we required JCVI advice and now deployment, we regret that it has not been possible to provide 14 sitting days’ notice to consider these issues in advance of announcing the planned extension to the booster programme in the UK. Deployment of effective vaccines to eligible groups has been and remains a key part of the Government’s strategy to manage COVID-19. Willingness to accept the need for appropriate indemnities to be given to vaccine suppliers has helped to secure access to vaccines, with the expected benefits to public health and the economy alike, much sooner than may have been the case otherwise.Given the exceptional circumstances we are in, and the terms on which developers have been willing to supply a COVID-19 vaccine, we along with other nations have taken a broad approach to indemnification proportionate to the situation we are in. Even though the COVID-19 vaccines have been developed at pace, at no point and at no stage of development has safety been bypassed. The MHRA approval for use of the currently deployed vaccines clearly demonstrates that these vaccines have satisfied, in full, all the necessary requirements for safety, effectiveness, and quality. We are providing indemnities in the very unexpected event of any adverse reactions that could not have been foreseen through the robust checks and procedures that have been put in place.I will update the House in a similar manner as and when other COVID-19 vaccines or additional doses of vaccines already in use in the UK are deployed. HM Treasury has approved the proposal.

Treasury

Tax Administration and Maintenance

Lord Agnew of Oulton: My right honourable friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lucy Frazer) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021 announced that the government would bring forward a further set of plans for tax administration and maintenance later in the autumn, which follows a similar set of announcements published in Tax policies and consultations: Spring 2021 [CP 404] after the Spring Budget. I am pleased to confirm that the government has set these out in Tax Administration and Maintenance : Autumn 2021 [CP 577], laid today. This outlines further steps the government is taking to progress tax simplification, tackle non-compliance and ensure our tax system is fit for the modern world.Copies of the report are available in the Vote Office and at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-administration-and-maintenance-autumn-2021